1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of firearms, and more particularly to a fixed style of buttstock for an M16/M4 style firearm or variant.
2. Description of Prior Art
Heretofore U.S. military rifles and carbines of the M16/M4 style have utilized a rifle receiver extension configuration; or a carbine adjustable position receiver extension of a different configuration.
The lower receiver extension is specifically the attachment point for the buttstock assembly for either the rifle or the carbine.
A rifle extension is cylindrical; and the rifle buttstock of either A1 or A2 military styles has a round tunnel within to allow it to slide over the extension.
A carbine adjustable receiver extension is cylindrical with a longitudinal lug on its inferior surface; a collapsible carbine buttstock has a corresponding tunnel with a keyway to accomodate the lug.
Without intending to be exhaustive of the assigned patents relating to the M16 rifle and M4 carbine and their genre, the following U.S. patents disclose various features which are of importance for understanding the improvements provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,328 to Robert Earl Roy (Oct. 24, 1967) discloses a receiver extension rod for firearms with an elongated rib extending radially outward and a buttstock assembly which can be adjusted in length for individuals of different size. This buttstock does not afford the user of an internal storage cavity, and the normal configuration found on a standard M16/AR15 style buttstock.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,248 to Henry A. Into, and John K. Jorczak (Nov. 09, 1971) disclose a buttstock assembly for a firearm with a cylindrical receiver extension of the style found on M16/AR15 rifles, and a buttstock that provides for an internal storage compartment. However, this buttstock configuration cannot slide over the receiver extension disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,328, and which is generally used on M4/AR15 style carbines. In this same context,
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,101 to Harold J. Waterman Jr. (Apr. 23, 1985) discloses a buttstock similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,248 with an increase in strength from improved construction cannot slide over the receiver extension disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,328.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are to provide the option of a fixed buttstock for a firearm while utilizing an M4 style or variant of the receiver extension.
Another object of the invention is to modularize the construction of M4/M16 style of rifle and carbines and their variants.
A further object of the invention is to allow for its installation without any permanent modification to the host firearm.
Another object of the invention is to allow the fixed buttstock option and the adjustable buttstock to be substituted for each other whenever desired.
A still further object of the invention is that no machining is required for installation.
Yet another object of the invention is that the fixed buttstock provides the rifle buttstock configuration for the carbine platform without utilizing the rifle receiver extension or buffer system.
Still yet another object of the invention is providing a fixed rifle buttstock for a carbine without requiring the use of a rifle receiver extension.
Another object of the invention is to provide the fixed buttstock conversion for extreme cold weather where the adjustable buttstock may become xe2x80x9cfrozenxe2x80x9d in either an extended or collapsed position, and not function as extensible or collapsible.
A further object of the invention is to provide via the fixed buttstock conversion internal storage for accessories for the carbine.
Yet another object of the invention is that the fixed buttstock provides all the standard dimensions of the rifle for the carbine; effectively creating a xe2x80x9cshorterxe2x80x9d barreled rifle configuration.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.